Way back in May of this year, we reported that a new G.I. Joe movie was in the works from Paramount and Hasbro. Centering on the silent ninja Snake Eyes, the spinoff flick was written by Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Huntsman: Winter's War, Beauty and the Beast); Brian Goldner is also on board as a producer.  Now, it's looking like some progress is being made on this movie in earnest as Robert Schwentke (RED) is in talks to direct.

Variety reports that Schwentke and Paramount are in early talks for the reboot of the film franchise based on the classic Hasbro toy line. Schwentke, whose 2017 historical war drama The Captain achieved critical acclaim, was also at the helm for such films as RED, R.I.P.D., and the second and third installments in the Divergent trilogy/quadrilogy.

gi-joe-2-retaliation-movie-image-snake-eyes
Image via Paramount

Make of this news what you will. The good news is that Paramount hasn't given up on the G.I. Joe franchise, though Hasbro hasn't really put the marketing muscle behind any new versions of their toys the way they've done in decades past. Maybe that's about to change. The bad news, in my opinion, is that Spiliotopoulos and Schwentke don't exactly scream fresh, original, or even interesting. I haven't seen The Captain, so maybe Schwentke's handling of the war drama will pave the way for something serviceable in Snake Eyes but it's hard to get excited at the moment.

If you're unfamiliar with the title character, a favorite among fans and a fun side character in the previously released G.I. Joe movies, Snake Eyes is a silent ninja commando with a penchant for wearing black and palling around with his pet wolf, Timber. His archenemy, Storm Shadow, is a rival ninja and also his blood brother. Ray Park played the part of Snake Eyes in the first two Joe films while Byung-Hun Lee played Storm Shadow. With a reboot of this franchise, you can expect a recast as well. Be sure to let us know who you think could play the parts and how you think the silent Snake Eyes is going to be handled as the lead character.

gi-joe-snake-eyes-movie
Image via Paramount